Watch and pray...
Posted by Rebekah Willis at 3/30/2008 1:02 PM and is filed under Coping,submission,The Body of This Hope,Prayer 
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. (Mark 13:33)
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. (Mark 14:38)
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36)
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (1 Peter 4:7)
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. (Collosians 4:2-4)
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 8:18-20)
Honestly, I don't think there is anything more important to the Believer than that quiet time (or sometimes not so quiet time) spent in prayer. I mean, Jesus put it better than anyone, telling His friends to 'keep the watch', praying, so that their souls could be strengthened in the same way He had been strengthened; through communion with the Father.
In fact, the record from Luke 21 is even more specific regarding the power this communion affords the worshiper. Jesus is teaching about the end of time and the destruction of the second temple. Although He lists the terrible events which proceed the destruction and ways in which the people can escape it, His main focus seems to shift to the more intangible weightier issues of spiritual safety.
"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." (Luke 21:34,35)
The snare of distraction, which is a threat to all of those who dwell on the surface of this planet, is the major destroyer. Self-indulgence, willingly or carelessly giving oneself as a slave to the system of pay/earn (cares of this life) and personal representation, is what gets the folk in the last day. The only thing that combats this is the prayer watch.
I know you've experienced it before, when you find yourself fighting the rising waves of daily life, a heaviness growing in your pit and the growl of the flesh taking precedent over the pleading of the spirit.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The Spirit is willing, but Man is weak.
You see, our gifted spirit cannot carry the burden of repulsing the generational curse without daily and continual contact with the Spirit of origin. Just as the Garden which was planted in the East of Eden included the Tree of Life for Adam and Eve's use, we have continual access to the God of creation for the purposes of being sustained.
It is through and because of prayer that we are able to withstand temptation. Through and because of meaningful interaction with our Father we are able to act from the spirit, in the light of our conversion and not from the weight of the flesh. It is through and because of ceaseless prayer that we are kept in touch with the pulse of time, warned of danger, relieved of Man's true birthright - misery, and delivered from temptation by the Way of escape.
Prayer is our ministry and our method.
Daniel, who was a captive member of Darius' heathen administration, prayed to the Father three times a day. Like many of us, he recognized from whence had come his stamina. His spiritual stamina, his mental acuity, his physical health and all the wide and narrow understandings of his wellbeing came to him as a gift of the Creator. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."(Daniel 6:10)
Even as we read this story, we may flinch a bit at what could be interpreted as methodical service, which in may ways conflicts with the modern view of healthy spirituality. However, his mechanized prayer was not of his invention alone. The order of offerings in the temple called for multiple services each day, a type of our post-Redeemer supplications. We are admonished to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In Acts 12, when Peter was imprisoned, prayer was made for him without ceasing and triggered one of the most fascinating acts of deliverance in the whole recorded record.
These examples are to be the rule, not its exception.
Prayer brings us to a place where the recommended sobriety and vigilance can be attained, which only comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, sober, vigilant people are nothing more than obsessive, depressed and a bit boring. Y'shua was nothing like that, even though He carried the heaviest burden ever known from His very first days.
His peace was the result of continual interaction with the Sustainer. His joy came from the Father of Love and all goodness. He was steady, sure of Himself, His mission and the eventual outcome of His earthly suffering. When met by haSatan, He met the challenge with confidence and an awareness of the will of His Father.
Prayer builds a relationship that allows us to see beyond seeing and live above the constraints of life.
Recently, the Lord answered a question I posed while I was still asking it with one of the texts from above— "pray without ceasing".
What can we do, when the Omniscient Lord reveals His will to us, but follow?
Today, my prayer for you is that you will find a sustaining prayer life, which will become more to you than a passing joy note. May all our prayer life be enriched by regularity, purposefulness, more prayer for others, more conversational prayer, and more meditative prayer.
An excerpt of Hashem's answer at the dedication of the temple: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place." (2 Chronicles 7:14,15)
An exclamation of Paul: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (2 Corinthians 6:19,20)
Prayer is our offering; the sweet smell coming from our temple. It isn't only for blessing or giving thanks for food, rest or waking. Prayer is a tool of Elohim that draws us closer to Him and turns our feet onto the path of righteousness. Prayer is a soul call to the Creator; a walk through the Garden in the heat of the day. Prayer is an action worth dying for, because it is requested of us by the one Who has given us everything and Who above all seeks to continue the relationship.
It delivers us. It delivers others.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. (Mark 13:33)
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. (Mark 14:38)
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36)
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. (1 Peter 4:7)
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. (Collosians 4:2-4)
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 8:18-20)
Honestly, I don't think there is anything more important to the Believer than that quiet time (or sometimes not so quiet time) spent in prayer. I mean, Jesus put it better than anyone, telling His friends to 'keep the watch', praying, so that their souls could be strengthened in the same way He had been strengthened; through communion with the Father.
In fact, the record from Luke 21 is even more specific regarding the power this communion affords the worshiper. Jesus is teaching about the end of time and the destruction of the second temple. Although He lists the terrible events which proceed the destruction and ways in which the people can escape it, His main focus seems to shift to the more intangible weightier issues of spiritual safety.
"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." (Luke 21:34,35)
The snare of distraction, which is a threat to all of those who dwell on the surface of this planet, is the major destroyer. Self-indulgence, willingly or carelessly giving oneself as a slave to the system of pay/earn (cares of this life) and personal representation, is what gets the folk in the last day. The only thing that combats this is the prayer watch.
I know you've experienced it before, when you find yourself fighting the rising waves of daily life, a heaviness growing in your pit and the growl of the flesh taking precedent over the pleading of the spirit.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The Spirit is willing, but Man is weak.
You see, our gifted spirit cannot carry the burden of repulsing the generational curse without daily and continual contact with the Spirit of origin. Just as the Garden which was planted in the East of Eden included the Tree of Life for Adam and Eve's use, we have continual access to the God of creation for the purposes of being sustained.
It is through and because of prayer that we are able to withstand temptation. Through and because of meaningful interaction with our Father we are able to act from the spirit, in the light of our conversion and not from the weight of the flesh. It is through and because of ceaseless prayer that we are kept in touch with the pulse of time, warned of danger, relieved of Man's true birthright - misery, and delivered from temptation by the Way of escape.
Prayer is our ministry and our method.
Daniel, who was a captive member of Darius' heathen administration, prayed to the Father three times a day. Like many of us, he recognized from whence had come his stamina. His spiritual stamina, his mental acuity, his physical health and all the wide and narrow understandings of his wellbeing came to him as a gift of the Creator. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."(Daniel 6:10)
Even as we read this story, we may flinch a bit at what could be interpreted as methodical service, which in may ways conflicts with the modern view of healthy spirituality. However, his mechanized prayer was not of his invention alone. The order of offerings in the temple called for multiple services each day, a type of our post-Redeemer supplications. We are admonished to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In Acts 12, when Peter was imprisoned, prayer was made for him without ceasing and triggered one of the most fascinating acts of deliverance in the whole recorded record.
These examples are to be the rule, not its exception.
Prayer brings us to a place where the recommended sobriety and vigilance can be attained, which only comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, sober, vigilant people are nothing more than obsessive, depressed and a bit boring. Y'shua was nothing like that, even though He carried the heaviest burden ever known from His very first days.
His peace was the result of continual interaction with the Sustainer. His joy came from the Father of Love and all goodness. He was steady, sure of Himself, His mission and the eventual outcome of His earthly suffering. When met by haSatan, He met the challenge with confidence and an awareness of the will of His Father.
Prayer builds a relationship that allows us to see beyond seeing and live above the constraints of life.
Recently, the Lord answered a question I posed while I was still asking it with one of the texts from above— "pray without ceasing".
What can we do, when the Omniscient Lord reveals His will to us, but follow?
Today, my prayer for you is that you will find a sustaining prayer life, which will become more to you than a passing joy note. May all our prayer life be enriched by regularity, purposefulness, more prayer for others, more conversational prayer, and more meditative prayer.
An excerpt of Hashem's answer at the dedication of the temple: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place." (2 Chronicles 7:14,15)
An exclamation of Paul: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (2 Corinthians 6:19,20)
Prayer is our offering; the sweet smell coming from our temple. It isn't only for blessing or giving thanks for food, rest or waking. Prayer is a tool of Elohim that draws us closer to Him and turns our feet onto the path of righteousness. Prayer is a soul call to the Creator; a walk through the Garden in the heat of the day. Prayer is an action worth dying for, because it is requested of us by the one Who has given us everything and Who above all seeks to continue the relationship.
It delivers us. It delivers others.
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